A Squib's Shot
by Kirthal
Summary: Haley Delter had grown up around magic but was born a squib. She never harbored resentment towards the fact and dedicated her life to something worthwhile. Now, after years of being separated from that world, she's pulled back in. Dumbledore, in an attempt to maintain some control of his school has asked Haley to live at Hogwarts as extra security with Sirius Black on the loose.


**Another new story! This one is a little different from the rest of my stories, in a narrative aspect. It is not in first person. If you happen to catch any mistakes with that, please point them out so I can fix them. I hope you enjoy! Still don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Heaving a sigh, one that escaped the lips of those who were carrying too heavy a burden, Albus looked around the room. The entire staff was situated around the room, in various states. The meeting had been somewhat last minute. Many of the Professors were getting ready to retire for the evening. Some had ink stained fingers, indicating that they had been grading.

As Albus pulled his increasingly weary body upward to his feet, all eyes came to rest on him. He knew what the reaction would be but this needed to be done. They would need the help, now and in the future if any situation would arise.

"Now before I begin with the important business of this meeting, I would like to apologize for the abruptness of it all. You all needed to be notified and it came up last minute. I was hoping to have briefed you all at the end of the week but the time table has been shifted forward somewhat." He had their curiosity now, even Severus seemed somewhat interested in what was being said. "As you all know well, Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. The Ministry felt it necessary to send it's own sort of protection in the form of the Dementors. While I fought against this idea, finding that Hogwarts is indeed safe enough on it's own, it was a losing battle. Thinking on this fact, I felt that it would be a good idea to bring in a little security of our own. If you would please dear…" The door opened and all eyes shifted from Albus to the young woman standing in the doorway.

She was dressed in Muggle clothing, but still a little odd. A pair of camouflage cargo pants tucked into high top black boots completed her lower half. Those who had been raised in the Muggle world recognized a military uniform when they saw one. Her top consisted of a plain tan t-shirt, a pair of tags resting around her neck.

Her back was ramrod straight and she eyed the room full of teachers as if assessing threat levels. She wasn't a large woman by any means, standing maybe five foot six and couldn't have weighed more than one hundred and twenty five pounds. Muscles were well defined through her arms and everyone assumed that that pattern continued. Her chocolate colored hair was pulled back into a bun.

As she entered the room, her movements were precise and measured. She moved with the grace of a predator on the prowl, in fact it reminded a lot of the staff of the way that their Potions Master moved. The wiser members of the staff remained silent and watched with a reigned in and reserved curiosity while some others looked outraged, upset, or confused.

She came to a stop besides Albus, turning and looking at the table. Even standing still, it looked as if she could pounce across the table. Her hands rested behind her back and she waited quietly for the Headmaster to continue.

"May I introduce you to our new head of security Haley Delter."

"Albus she is a Muggle!"

"How can she even begin to protect anyone here?"

"I think he has finally lost it!"

"She will be useless." Haley remained silent through the outburst, waiting for the witches and wizards to calm down. There was more to her than what simply meets the eye.

"Everyone will calm down this instant." His stern voice had the desired effect on his staff. Everyone fell silent and looked to him for an explanation.

"Miss Delter is not a Muggle. She is a squib. Despite this, she is more than qualified to handle security. She has years of experience in the muggle military, specializing in security and surveillance in her later years. Her skills come highly recommended through a friend who I have great trust in."

"She looks like she could barely defend herself." Her eyes flicked to the male that had spoken. Immediately, by looks alone, she recognized what type of man he was. Bitterness was written all over his face, with a deep seeded regret hidden in his eyes. It was a look wore by a lot of men that she had lead. It was something she was used to see, used to dealing with.

"You will find sir that I can more than adequately defend myself, magic or not."

"What if you come across Black in the corridors, what if it comes down to life or death? Do you have the fortitude to do what would be asked of you?" Her honor more than ability was called into question here. She hated thinking on her past, what she had done for the military but it had aided her in getting here.

"My past record speaks for itself. I do not like to dwell on it, or speak of it. But I can guarantee you that I have been faced with the choice on more occasions that one human being should have to deal with. And I have had to make the hard decision more than you ever have in your life time." The man stood up but with a look from Albus was silenced. "Before security and surveillance, I was part of a special task force that was handed the jobs that no one else was willing to do, that no one else could do. We did things that would break most men, that would cause a lot of people to never sleep again in their life. I am not proud of what I had to do but I understand that it needed to be done. I do not appreciate my honor called into question sir. Nor my ability, I certainly wouldn't have survived as long as I did in a male dominated world if I didn't have any." After that she fell silent. Names, faces, deaths began to flash through her mind.

She remained silent the rest of the meeting, knowing that it was not expected of her to say anything else. Albus fielded the questions by the staff and answered to the best of his ability. She stared ahead, at the back wall, barely blinking. As of right now, she didn't have to impress any of them. She was here for a job and she would be carrying that job out, completing the mission set before her.

Once the final member had trickled out of the room, the old Headmaster turned to her.

"I know that some of the staff will be particularly difficult to deal with Miss Delter. I ask that you do your best to be civil to them and ignore the rest."

"I am more than capable of such feats Headmaster. I have no intentions of getting into any rows while here. I have a job to do and I intended to carry it out to completion."

"You are a good mix of your parents Haley." This caused her to look at him. She hadn't known her parents as a child should. They had been killed when she was young, old enough to remember and mourn but young enough that it caused her to go into the system. "They would be proud of what you have decided to do, come here and help." She nodded slowly.

"Thank you sir. I doubt that would overcome the disappointment of everything else but I appreciate the sentiment. Now, do you require anything else of me sir?"

"Not at the moment."

"Alright sir. I would like to start my first patrol tonight. I understand that you have Professors patrol the castle at night?"

"Yes and some students."

"So I don't give someone a fright, it might be a good idea for me to get a list of names and faces." Dumbledore nodded.

"Of course. Wonderful idea. Don't need you jumping on the wrong person after all." She fought a roll of her eyes, wondering if what she was getting into was a good idea after all.

"Well then, after you sir." She followed him out of the room and to his office.

* * *

Snape was on patrol, as it was his evening. His mind was not entirely focused on the current task. The woman that Albus had brought in was the main object of his thoughts. She was a squib, meaning that she had no magic. Severus could not see how she would be able to provide any security to the school, or how she could defend anyone against Black.

He stalked around the halls, moving silently. His eyes were used to the blackness that surrounded him. What he wasn't used to was the sudden tug of his robes. Before he could react, he found himself pinned against the wall.

Haley hide a grin, choosing to do so inwardly. While she had recognized his face as a teacher, knew that he was not someone that she needed to stop, she couldn't help herself as he walked passed. He had doubted her ability to handle any situation. Her forearm was pressed against his windpipe and a knife was in her other hand, pressed against his ribcage. She would never pull such a weapon on a student but it would work nicely to prove her point to the dour, bitter man. He sputtered and tried to move his wand but that was quickly knocked out of his hand. She worked it, allowing herself a few seconds to stare at him before she released him.

"I do apologize professor." She knelt down, not giving him any chance to retaliate by presenting her back, to pick up his wand. "I did not realize it was you." The man was doing his best to hide his angry but there were flashes of shock in his eyes that she could see. He wasn't someone who was used to being snuck up upon. She knew that, he moved i a way that stated it. She had almost not heard him coming, but picked up on his footsteps at the last moment.

"I didn't realize it was you. Albus had informed me that there would be no one on patrol besides myself tonight." He had yet to say a word and she could practically smell his blood boiling. He was beyond angry but had yet to get some payback. "I will just let you go on your way. I must continue on my patrol. Have a good evening." He was nearly finished gathering himself and she needed to get away before he blew his lid.

Disappearing into the shadow, avoiding the shine of the light at the end of his wand, she allowed herself a smirk. Well, it was at least something. Aggravating the man might be her only form of entertainment while here. He shouldn't be too hard to rile up now.

* * *

Haley took her seat at the staff table in the morning, having already done her P.T. for the day. While she was no longer in the military, it didn't mean that any of her habits had ended. P.T. kept her in shape, kept her mind sharp, and allowed her to escape for that short time. A bowl of fruit and oatmeal appeared in front of her along with a cup of black coffee. Before she could dig into her food though, Albus had stood up and called all attention to him. She cursed under her breath, knowing what he was about to do. She would rather stay to herself and not really have the students watching her. It would make her job easier that way.

Unfortunately, that would not be happening.

"As you all tuck into your breakfast, I have an announcement to make. Due to the recent security issues called into question here at our lovely school, I have decided to add a member to the staff. She is here for the sole reason of monitoring the grounds, of maintaining the security of the school, on top of what we currently have. Miss Delter, if you would please stand up." Haley let out a sigh, one that was caught by the staff surrounding her, and stood up. She gave a curt nod to the student body, a small frown coming to her face as she was gawked at. The whispers started immediately. She sat back down and turned her attention to the food in front of her. She needed to get a feel for the ground today and beyond the few miles she ran this morning, there was a lot to cover and see. A mental map needed to be built, the expanse of Hogwarts memorized and stored away. Any short cuts would be great to know, maybe she would ask some of the staff later if they knew any. This castle was enormous and had to have some. It would be impossible to believe that it didn't.

Finishing her food, she swiftly left the Hall, not noticing right away the man that left behind her. She had to give it to him, he was good. He was used to doing these things. But, she had an upper hand in that she was trained to pick them out, was trained to be the best of the best. Turning a corner, she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to appear.

He was a little startled to find her leaning against the wall. He hide it extremely well though, and Haley had to grudgingly admit to herself that she was impressed.

"Have a reason for following me Professor?" He raised an eyebrow in response.

"Why do you think I would be following you?" She smirked and pushed off the wall.

"One, you were walking about twenty paces behind me, silently. You were timing your movements so that I wouldn't have noticed that you were behind me. For being here only a short amount of time, I know that neither your classroom or office, or personal quarters are anywhere in this direction. All the other professors are still in the Great Hall so you cannot use the excuse of going to see any of them." He wasn't going to admit that he had been following her, she knew that. But it was interesting to see him try to come up with an excuse. "I don't care to know a reason. I am not thick skulled enough to believe that there would be doubt, curiosity, and concern over my being here. I am not disillusioned in any way and from your little outburst during the staff meeting; I know that you are one of those people. I will gladly sit through any inquiry that you would like to place on me. And yes, that would include Vertiserum." Once again, she could tell that she had caught him off guard. She gave him a nod to signal good day and moved onto what she had planned on doing.

* * *

Exploring the grounds had been a rather extensive task, a little more than she had been expecting. Running a hand through her hair, she closed her door. She had time enough to shower, go to dinner, and then grab a little sleep before patrol. Her sleeping patterns, while already pretty eractic and scrambled, were thrown off by being here. She never missed her morning P.T but patrolling the castle had taken a considerable amount of time. Her eyes glanced over at the trunk containing all of her necessary weapons. Albus had placed a charm on it so only she could open it. It was the safest way to do things, so that if her rooms somehow got broken into it, no one could get their hands on those.

Ignoring the headache that was coming on, she moved towards the shower to get ready for dinner. She was expected to show up just like any other member of the staff. Her mind briefly wandered to the resident Potions Master, wondering if he would take up her offer of questioning. Chuckling at the thought, she knew that he would be more regretful about it than she would if he decided to delve into her past.

"Oh well. At least I won't remember talking about it." While she was a squib, her parents had taught her a lot growing up. They wanted to pass on the knowledge, wanted her to know even if it would be somewhat useless knowledge to her. They had never dreamed that she would end up here, where the knowledge would actually be useful. She had learned on her own as well, reading whatever her parents had left her. She knew exactly what she was getting into when she had made her offered to the Professor. Shrugging it off, she went about cleaning herself.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair, though she found herself next to the Defense Professor. He was a kind individual and someone that was worth getting to know. At least she could have one kind face besides the Headmaster to look for if need be. They had a small conversation, questioning each other more than anything else. Surface based questions more than anything else, neither choosing to delve into anything that would make the other uncomfortable. She could feel eyes boring into the side of her head. She ignored it, knowing it was coming from the staff table.

"Ms. Delter." She looked up from her plate of food to see Snape standing over them. "I do believe I will take you up on your offer. Once you are finished, you can meet me in my office." Without another word, he turned on his heel and was off. Professor Lupin raised an eyebrow in question, looking towards her for answers. A small smirk appeared on her face.

"I offered to allow him to question me under Vertiserum."

"Um, are you sure that is the best idea Ms. Delter."

"Alright, please call me Haley. I've been called by my last name enough to last me several life times. Secondly, I know what I am getting into. I have nothing to hide from him and maybe it will get him to shut up a little bit."

"Well, it seems that I cannot dissuade you. And please then call me Remus." She managed to give him a small, friendly smile.

"Thank you Remus. Now, there is no use in delaying the inevitable. Best to get it done and over with. One less thing on my plate to worry about." She stood up.

"Good luck." She nodded a thanks and left the Great Hall, making her way to the dungeons. This was going to be an interesting experience, for the both of them. She knew that for a fact.


End file.
